Blazion, Michael & Jane: 3 reasons you should vote for the ‘Lift today

As you may have heard, Community Forklift is a semi-finalist in the eBay SHINE Awards for Small Business. We’re in the home stretch now – if we get enough votes before THIS FRIDAY, July 14th, we can win up to $10,000 and other useful prizes for our nonprofit.

You can vote once per day per email address,

Winning this contest will help us reach a larger online audience, which means we can do more good here in the DC metro region! We can keep more usable stuff out of landfills, provide more free materials to neighbors in need, and offer more green jobs to local residents – like these three:

Blazion:

Our 2017 Summer Intern comes to us through our partnership with End Time Harvest Ministries, a local nonprofit that arranges summer jobs for youth here in the Port Towns neighborhood. She says, “Although I’ve only been here for a short amount of time, I’ve already been welcomed with open arms. The staff and customers here are so great and I’ve learned so much. One of my jobs is to help with the voting (which you should do, I might add). Voting will not only help bring resources to our nonprofit, but to the community as well. So, please get out there and vote today!”

She is full of energy and excited to contribute at Community Forklift, so we asked her to interview some of our Reuse Associates. Here are her questions and their answers:

Michael:

How did you start working here? I started off as an intern, and I worked here the whole summer. I was hired as an on-call Community Builder to greet customers and help with special events, and was then promoted to part-time Reuse Associate (helping on the sales team and the receiving & processing team) and eventually became a full-time employee.

Why do you like working here? It’s a very cool job. It’s like a cycle. Donate, build, and create. Not to mention that we help the community, which is amazing.

Why do you think Community Forklift is important? It helps low-income families and home builders manage to create a great home perfect for them.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? I love the look on a new customer’s face the first time they enter the shop, and how the employees make them feel at home.

Jane:

How did you start working here? Ever since I heard about Community Forklift, I’ve wanted to work here. When I heard there was an opening, I was thrilled.

Why do you like working here? It helps the community and makes me feel like I have a purpose here. My ideas are actually heard, unlike at other companies and businesses.

Why do you think Community Forklift is important? There are so many reasons:

It helps the community & brings them together

Zero waste, which means a lot to me

I’m big on green jobs

Other non-profit organizations aren’t competition – they are our friends.

What’s your favorite memory of working here? I don’t have a specific memory, but I just love everything we do here. The laughs, the people, the message.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? Go team! I love this organization. And out of all the nonprofits, this is by far my favorite job. I really love the education given and received here and all the things we can bring to the community.